Tasting Kaunas: Uoksas, Sūreliai and Rye Bread

'Great people, a lot of hip places, great food scene, great architecture and street art and city atmosphere all make your city a kaunastic place to visit', our new friends from Krakow told us.

We met Patrycja and Agnieszka (in picture above), two travel and food bloggers from Krakow, Poland, during their weekend getaway in Kaunas. Our encounter was followed by a splendid dinner at Momo Grill, the hippest place in town, and, after discussing the street art and food situation in Lithuania and Poland, we shared some souvenir tips with our new acquaintances. After checking out their mouthwatering Instagram posts and stories, we decided to ask Patrycja and Agnieszka a few questions about their stay in Kaunas.

Did you have any assumptions about Kaunas before your trip?

Actually, Agnieszka has been to Kaunas once before, but it was many years ago, so she didn’t remember a lot. Our only assumption was not to have any assumptions and let ourselves immerse in the city.

The girls tried the veggie burgers at Hop Doc, accompanied with parmesan fries and beer mimosas. Photo by @podrozekulinarne

How many different restaurants and cafés did you manage to try out during your weekend stay? Was it a normal food blogger pace?

We managed to visit five places. Due to our ‘specialisation’, namely culinary travelling, we usually try to do visit at least 3 venues per day for breakfast, coffee, lunch and/or dinner. Often, there is a lot of digging, and Kaunas only seems to have tasty spots.

The food highlight of your trip was…

… Uoksas. We aren’t surprised it is so popular. Agnieszka confesses she shouted “wow, so delicious!” after every single dish which landed on the table – and that hasn’t happened for a long time.

A starter at Uoksas was also a starter of the gastro weekend in Kaunas. Photo by @podrozekulinarne

You mentioned you want to get some food souvenirs when we met – what did you buy?!

Food souvenirs are the most important souvenirs. Lithuania has a lot to offer. We purchased the dark rye bread (that got Agnieszka to security control), some sūreliai, jelly beans made only from fruits (yay for Lithuanian natural jellies), and a bottle of “Trejos devynerios”.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t find the Lithuanian apple cheese which seems to be an interesting taste to try so the cheese and “Voruta” wine will have to be bought during our next visit. If you wonder why I didn’t mention Džiugas, that’s only because we already have it in Poland and can enjoy it all the time. And we are big fans of Džiugas.

Who knew Ridikas, the falafel spot at the Kaunas Railway Station, reminds of eateries in Costa Rica?! That's just one of many nice observations by the bloggers. Photo by @podrozekulinarne

What would you say are the similarities and differences between the contemporary Lithuanian and Polish food scenes?

Simplicity, nature, local products, global influences. We can observe such trends not only in our countries, though. Scandinavian influences are visible in both scenes, maybe in Lithuania, it’s even stronger. I really like that there are so many vegetarian options. Preparing a great meal with vegetables shows the chef’s real skills.

After a weekend in our city, could you name a few reasons why young Polish travellers should consider Kaunas?

Great people, a lot of hip places, great food scene, great architecture and street art and city atmosphere all make it a kaunastic place to visit. Kaunas is easily accessible by bus, plane or car from almost any part of Poland, so we see no reason why we should not choose Kaunas as a good weekend getaway destination. See you soon, Kaunas :)